Title

Authors

Document Type

Presentation

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Utah State University Faculty Honor Lectures

Publisher

The Faculty Association, Utah State University

Publication Date

5-1-1965

Abstract

Man always faces the future with institutions which are products of the past and which must continually be modified to meet the changing needs of the present and the emerging future. The changes taking place in today's world are particularly rapid and dramatic, and they provide an unprecedented challenge to society. The family, as one of man's enduring institutions, has repeatedly been faced with the need for modification in response to changes in society, and today faces what may be its most severe test. However, Hill (1964) has concluded that our society is far from the most hostile social order yet encountered by marriage and family institutions, and that more options appear to be open to families today to experiment and to innovate than in any previous time. Hobart (1963) sees the possibility of developing in an afHuent society, freed from chronic concern with underproduction, a renewed commitment to the human values in marriage and family living, accompanied by a change in values to enable husbands and wives to be chosen increasingly because of the persons they are rather than for what they can do. Rossi (1964a) expects science, by recruiting increasing numbers of women, to change the now prevailing patterns of courtship, marriage, and the family. Women will marry later, be more selective in their choice of husbands, and function more independently as persons. Mogey (1955) has described the father as having been moving from his authoritarian position toward becoming a more fully "participating" member of the family.